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January 2018

Message From Our President

January: a time to mentally reset

Happy New Year to all of my IABC friends! Isn’t the start of a new year refreshing? The organized side of me always feels a sense of excitement knowing I can start new file folders and mentally reset. If you’re the same, you have probably made some resolutions for this year or at least thought about a few goals for 2018. Personally, I like to set goals rather than resolutions. Whichever you prefer, I hope IABC Dallas will continue to support your professional goals. If you’re not making the most of your membership, I encourage you to do so. Attend our lunches, meet people at our networking happy hours, or consider volunteering. If you don’t know how to get involved, just ask any of our board members. Let me suggest starting the year off with our January professional development lunch, which I think appropriately is focused on research. After all, smart research is the beginning and foundation for all smart communications programs, just as we are beginning a new year.I hope to see you there!

Melissa Hancock is the 2017/2018 President for the Chapter. She is also a Vice President at Weber Shandwick, one of the world's leading public relations firms.

Child’s Play and Market Research Pitfalls: Slatter’s Do’s and Don’ts

When IABC Dallas' best-known market research guru compares the work to painting-by-numbers, he doesn’t mean it’s child’s play. But, “It’s probably easier than you think,” says David Slatter, president of ExperiPro.

Okay, David. Tell us more.

David specializes in market insights and growth strategy, and has helped IABC Dallas develop its long term strategy and the annual member survey for a number of years. He has a lot of insight to share, and when he does it comes with a caveat: Beware the pitfalls before you rush out to define your market segments and present your “I’d stake my career on it” recommendations to the people who sign your paycheck.

A few of David’s words of wisdom:1. In market research, what you don’t know will hurt you. Take digital communications, for example, “One of the biggest mistakes I see is to group everyone in a single bucket, and send generic communications.” Get to know your audience. The more targeted the message is, the better.2. “If you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to make big mistakes,” he adds. Good market research is a methodical and detailed process. Complex data should translate into easy-to-understand, and actionable insights. It’s like translating the nuances of a master painting into a simple-to-use, paint-by-numbers kit.3. In case you missed it, it’s all about insight: Good segmentation of your market helps you understand what different customers are interested in buying, how much they will spend, and what they are buying from your competitors – instead of you. And that kind intelligence is achieved after sorting through thousands and thousands of data points.

Still hungry? Here’s how to learn more:David will recognize examples of market research “done right” when he presents at the Tuesday, Jan. 9, IABC Dallas professional development lunch meeting, 11:15 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., at The Clubs of Prestonwood, 15909 Preston Road, Dallas.

David Slatter, President of ExperiPro, has 35 years of combined marketing communications and market research experience. He is passionate about learning “how people use technology,” is a past IABC Dallas Board member and, you guessed it, loves to paint – sometimes by numbers.

Laura Rivera serves on the Communications Team for IABC Dallas. Working in the DFW area, she has 10+ years of experience managing and producing communication strategies and marketing content.

This Email would be GREAT – If Only It Had Video

For Video Views, Use Email Too

When we read the recent article on using video in email marketing in Communication World, our digital communication interest was piqued. Combine the insights from that article with a few facts and suggestions gleaned from classes at the Digital Summit/Dallas for a strong mix of best practices and current wisdom!

• Yes, video is important. Tell stakeholders that it’s anticipated that 84% of content consumed on the web will be video by 2020. (That’s just two years away!)

• Ideally, your email platform will allow you to embed video; but if it doesn’t, find work-arounds that keep video in your email strategy. Example: create an image with a screenshot of the video and overlay a “play” button look-alike. Use that image in your email so that when readers click the image, it links to the video.

• Know your objective when emailing a video. Maybe you’ll use it as a micro-conversion––sending a second, follow-up email to those who viewed the video, as they are now an audience warmed to your message. Then again, an emailed video could be a follow-up itself; a way to move those who have expressed early interest closer to conversion.

• If your video has a strong brand message but no call to action, consider sending it inside a transactional email to customers. It’s a fun way to dress up the usual “your order has shipped” email while building engagement.

Upcoming Events

IABC Dallas sponsors gain a lot. Business contacts. Professional development. A chance to be known as supporter of the profession and other communicators. It’s a new year, and for many that means a new promotion and business development budget to allocate where it will generate the most benefit. Please consider an IABC Dallas sponsorship in 2018.

Mark McKendrick VP of Sponsorship IABC Dallas

Sponsorship contracts are customized to fit sponsor needs. Typically, agreements include event exposure and promotion in IABC Dallas newsletters and social media. f your company is interested in becoming an IABC Sponsor, please contact Mark McKendrick at m.mckendrick@thebossgroup.com.